To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on the purchase of (a) recycled office supplies in the last 12 months and (b) printer ink cartridges in each of the last five years. (274574)

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) does not record details of expenditure under the descriptions requested therefore it would be possible to extract these costs only at disproportionate cost.

The Northern Ireland Office has a policy on the use of recycled paper for printing and copying which states that 100 per cent. recycled paper is mandatory.

In addition the Northern Ireland Office has a policy of recycling used ink cartridges.